Smyrna times., 1887-03-16


the Common school system-Few Out
side Alliances.
There is not a more curious people
under the sun than these same Pennsyl-
vania Dutch farmers. Their ancestors
were the pioneer settlers in one Of the
most fertile sections Of Pennsylvania, and
the superstitions, customs and antipathies
of the fathers are still held by the sons
The war Of the rebellion did more 10 dispel
the traditions Of the Pennsylvania Dutch
than anything in their history: but 20
among them in the back countries, where
their farms are isolated from towns. and
you will find item still firm believers in
spOOks, witches and charms, and strong
in their doubts Of the necessity Of com
mon schools They are as honest as the
day is long and the most close listed and
exacting in IA bargain OF any people in the
world Driving long distances TO market,
they will hagglc over 4 dime III bargain
that involves probably the sale Of hun
dredS OF dollars worth OF produce and IL
assured 10y going ten miles farther they
will bc able TO sell their goods and make
the extra ten cents, they will not hesitate
momc.t to take the journey. The extra
time and labor they do not take into &C
count
Prom the earliest days Of the Penn
| sylyana Dutch farmers they have re-
| garded menial service as the duty Of wo-
men. II is by no means an uncommon
| sight to see, in passing these back farm
/ ing regions. the women working in the
| fields as well as the men, not only hoeing
| and harvesting, but following the pillow
or harrow. This idea that women shall
have no mission beyond menial labor is
well illustrated by the fact that many a
| domestic drudge in the town families is
the daughter Of some farmer rich enough
| to buy her employer over and over again
I have servant in my house whose father
is one Of the best known Dutch farmers
in eastern Lehigh county, and is worth at
| least $4,000.
Before the war the old Dutch farmers
held TO the custom Of their fathers. which
prompted them to never refuse TO extend
financial aid to another, and that without
exacting written obligation or interest.
If one farmer needed few hundred dol
lars he went 10 any neighbor whom he
! knew had the money. The loan was at
once forthcoming, the borrower naming q
certain day and hour on which the money
would be repaid. II he failed TO keep his
word he was forever in disgrace, and no
one was bound to respond to his request
for aid again Defaults in payment Of
these unsecured and unremunerative loans
were very rare, so sacred was the verbal
contract held The scarcity OF money that
came with the early years Of the war. and
the premium that gold commanded, sent
spectators through the Pennsylvania
Dutch farming regions, and the cupidity
of the farmers was soon awakened, and
they for the first time began TO realize
I ffe . - 80 - n..s-
the old custom Of helping one another
without some return Of the favor was
gradually abandoned, and the bORd and
mortgage took its place AS the Dutch
farmers, as a class, are seldom in need Of
borrowing, and are suspicious Of outsiders
in making loans, the existence Of fortunes
in stockings and coffee pots may he
further explained
when the common school system was
first proposed, although it was the scheme
of Pennsylvania Dutch legislators and ex-
, ecutives, the farmers were unit in OppOs-
ing it, After it was authorized by Law
its machinery in many Of the districts Of
the Dutch counties necessarily passed into
| the control Of its opponents. Their policy
was to establish as few schools as possible,
] keep them open only few weeks in the
5 year and employ only such teachers as
r were willing to serve at the lowest possible
wages Many old timers have not modified
I their opposition to the common school yet,
! and will not accept its benefits. The con
: sequence is that there are whole cOmmuni-
4 ties where nothing but German is read
, written or spoken. 1t is a characteristic
g of the race to preserve their language
a which is a quaint combination Of English
c and German.
o The one great characteristic Of the
S PENNSYLVANIA Dutch is their regard for
S and strict attendance at church. No
: matter how far the nearest church may
be away, the farmer and his family never
{ miss a Sundays service 4 man may
1 offend against law in other ways and
L be forgiven but if he neglects his church
c he is at once placed under the ban Of
: society The Pennsylvania Dutch are
= proud of their party, and they adhere
e closely to old forms. They are the
5 severest of PIOtestants. Politicians
: understand and use his love OF church
K among the farmers, and candidate going
+ among them and making ostentatiOus
J. show Of his church connections, and, being
d able to quote from the Scriptures, captures
/, the hearts and votes of the simple minded
z DutChmen.
. Probably nowhere else in the country
!, are the social pastimes of the farmers pre-
I served and INDUCED in 10 such an extent
II as they are among the Pennsylvania
Dutch. The apple cut, the corn husking,
the quilting bee the old fashioned country
dance furnish the amusement and recrea-
!, tion to the buXOm Dutch mRidenS and
' lusty swains to-day as they did 70 those OF
!, hundreds of years ago. The dances are
' kept up from early evening until daylight.
. There is no going TO bed after dance.
The women 20 at once to their household
9 duties and the men to their labor in the
\ field the same as if they had slept as
: usual, from candle light TO candle light,
a according to the old Dutch custom. Work
' indoors and out begins as soon as there is
\ light enough to see, and continues until IL
, is too dark to see, winter and summer.
: ''The Dutch families discourage and
diSapprOve of all marriages that Will
: destroy the purity of their blood, and
hence the marriages with members OF any
!. other race are very rare. This accounts
. for the remarkable preservation Of the
? language the customs and the traditions
4 of their fOrefatherS among these people,
I surrounded as they are by influences OF
the highest modern thought and example.
I But in spite of their eXclusiveness, theiE
tenacious adherence to ideas Of a century
. ago and stubborn resistance to the
n advance of those Of to-day, the lessons In
integrity, industry, thrift and thorough.
? ness which they have given have had q
a most beneficial effect, not only in the
region which they have developed, but
throughout the state as well, and PenG
4 sylvania is a hundredfold the better foI
: their presence. Cor. New York Mai
v and Express.